YUKI Handroll Bar — Restaurant in Austin

I was excited to try this restaurant after hearing Joe Rogan and other bloggers rave about it. I thought a Tuesday night visit would be perfect to avoid the crowds and have a great experience. Unfortunately, I was severely mistaken and deeply disappointed. From the moment we were seated, things went downhill. The plates were greasy, our table had leftover food, and the water glass brought to me had visible lipstick stains. Our server, Karen (I believe), was unfriendly and unhelpful every time we had a question, despite our politeness. Shockingly, she admitted she didn’t know what any of the dishes tasted like. Karen forgot both our miso soups and our cheesecakes. Additionally, she made errors entering our order, resulting in 2-3 incorrect items, yet we were blamed for the mistakes. She said that were marked it on our menu incorrectly. It seemed the servers were overwhelmed, juggling hosting duties, cleaning tables, and taking phone orders, which left us neglected. Our water was never refilled, and not a single staff member thanked us as we left. The food itself was mediocre at best and did not justify the high prices. Despite there being a lot of kitchen staff visible, our wait for the food was excessively long, especially considering the restaurant wasn’t busy. The large portion sizes did nothing to improve the lackluster taste. The atmosphere and music were off, contributing to an overall unpleasant experience. In summary, I won’t be coming back here. The poor service, uncleanliness, and subpar food make this restaurant a...

An interesting restaurant concept that left me slightly confused. If you want to be high end and classy, get rid of the multiple TV screens, the cheap paper napkins and the weird menu format with dry erase markers. Maybe play music that complements the vibe, rather than sad, depressing ballads. Teach your servers to not serve drinks with their hands all over the rim of the glass, and to interact with guests instead of just order-taking. That said, the $7 clam miso soup was pretty good if not a bit sweet. The squid salad appetizer was ok, but I'm pretty sure it isn't made at the restaurant, as I've had that same salad at numerous restaurants. We tried the ikura and salmon hand rolls, which I'd classify as rather basic. The ikura also had a sweetness, rather than saltiness. The salmon was solid, not exquisite. This restaurant definitely delivers on its nigiri sushi, as the fish was clearly quite fresh, with giant slices atop seasoned rice. Several pieces had unnecessary garnishes that detracted from the flavor of the fish. I was really excited to try this place, and while I wasn't disappointed, I wasn't blown away. If you're charging this much for high quality fish, I would focus on developing a classier, more elegant, interactive guest experience. Another oddity: the online menu offers a beautiful selection of original sushi rolls, but these are unavailable to dine-in guests. I think I'll go back again to see if I l'm being too critical with this...

Service here is great and the staff are incredibly attentive. The prices are more affordable than similar handroll places closer to downtown, which is a big plus. The menu offers variety, but I like the crudo options of the handroll place in Houston. I love the convenience of using an erasable marker to mark your selections directly on the menu--it makes the ordering process fun and easy.

The nigiri pieces are impressively large, and the rice is soft with a slight green tint, which adds a unique visual touch without altering the flavor. The seaweed isn't crisp, the fish on some of the handroll orders are served as a slice versus diced so I am using my teeth to tear through and then kind of making a mess. I ordered madai, which had a piece of gristle, which was hard to work through and i believe should've been removed prior to serving.

For about $60, I had three handrolls and a piece of nigiri, which felt like good value considering the portion sizes and quality. We also tried the yuzu cheesecake, it had bright flavor, though the slice was a bit small. Also i thought the scallop roll would be raw scallop but it was cooked and lotsa mayo. Overall, I'd return to have nigiri and entertain my friends since it's priced lower. It's not good for large groups since the seating is...